of the outbreak. california, mississippi and hawaii. but there are some new clues to show you tonight, stirring hope, and abc's chief medical editor dr. richard besser is here to show you. >> tonight, i'm cautiously optimistic, finally a sign in southern states hit earliest, and hardest, that the peak of the flu epidemic has passed. tonight, amid all of the sneezing and coughing, a glimmer of hope. we talked to hospitals and health departments across the south and many are seeing it. from knoxville, tennessee, "we're seeing that downturn." to north carolina, "looks like we peaked early." but it's not universal. even in the same states, some hospitals are still getting slammed. "our numbers don't yet reflect a downturn," a doctor from duke university hospital, also in north carolina, tells us. this year's flu season hit early, november 25th, a month earlier than a typical one. we're now six weeks into it, and if this year is like years past, we are likely to have six or more weeks to go. it's not too late to get some protection and today, the cdc provided first indication as to how well the vacc
